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James Dominic Fenix
Captain James Dominic Fenix, often called "JD" by his squadmates, was a Gear soldier and the son of the legendary Marcus Fenix and Anya Stroud. He met Delmont Walker in boarding school in New Ephyra during the post-Locust War era, and together they joined the Coalition of Ordered Governments Army. After being ordered to use violence against protesting civilians in Settlement 2, JD and Del went AWOL and sought refuge among the Outsiders, where he later on befriended Outsider Kait Diaz.Game Informer: Exclusive Reveal: Meet The New Cast Of Gears Of War 4 However, the Locust Horde, believed to have been killed, reemerged as the Swarm and initiated the Swarm War to end humanity once and for all, forcing JD and his friends to rejoin the Coalition and defend humanity. Biography Early Life James Dominic Fenix was born in 21 A.E. to Sergeant Marcus Fenix, a war-hero of the Pendulum Wars and Locust War, and First Minister Anya Stroud, who served with his father during both wars. Anya, who was previously infertile and unable to carry, was able to conceive James due to the birthing program created by Minister Mina Jinn. James was born on the Stroud Estate during the era of peace, far from the walled confines of sanctioned COG territory, and was partially named after Marcus Fenix's childhood friend, Corporal Dominic Santiago, who sacrificed his life in 17 A.E. during the Lambent Pandemic and Locust War to save his mother and father in battle. From a young age, JD was surrounded by stories of his parents, who helped bring about the end of the war.Gears of War 4: Collector's Edition Guide, page 6 War heroes and friends of Marcus and Anya: Private Augustus Cole, Corporal Damon Baird, and Private Samantha Byrne played a part in JD's upbringing.As revealed in dialogue spoken in Act V, Chapter 2: Killing Time, where JD refers to Cole as "Uncle Cole" and Baird stated he gave toys to JD While growing up on the Stroud Estate, his family lived off the land and at peace. At one point in his childhood, Marcus planted a tree in the front yard with the help of JD and carved his initials "JDF" into the tree.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3f8VgQ_dqk&ab_channel=Xbox Gears of War 4 - Tomorrow trailer At age 6, in 27 A.E., JD's mother died attempting to conceive another child. The grief of his mother's death caused a divide between JD and his father, mixed with his rebellious nature.Gears of War 4: Collector's Edition Guide, page 11 Marcus then sent James to attend an elite boarding school in New Ephyra. There, he met classmate and ward of the state, Delmont Walker, and the two became best friends due to both being loners wounded by the death of their parents. Del had practically become a member of the Fenix family as he often resided with James at the Stroud Estate, having fond memories of the place unlike JD.Gears of War 4: Collector's Edition Guide, page 7 The two continued to attend the academy until they both graduated. Military Career Joining the Coalition Upon graduating from boarding school, JD decided to enlist in the Coalition of Ordered Governments Army as a Gear. Marcus objected, having withdrawn from the new COG when they proved more interested in authoritarian control than civic-minded rebuilding after the death of his wife. This proved to be the final straw between James and Marcus, as JD ran away from home and Marcus disowned him. Marcus had seen JD only once in the three years afterwards and Marcus warned James that since he was now in the COG, he had to remain there forever, because abandoning them and going "Outsider" would mean being hunted down by the COG. Accompanied by Del, JD entered the officer training program of the Coalition of Ordered Governments Military Academy and both reached the rank of Lieutenant. He graduated from COG Military Academy in 39 A.E.,COG Officer Gear Pack after which he caught the eye of First Minister Mina Jinn, who selected him and Del to lead a unit of security DeeBeesGears of War 4: Collector's Edition Guide, page 6-7 in Settlement 2. Massacre of Settlement 2 With no Locust or Lambent to fight, however, JD and Del were engaged in combat with the Outsiders. The Outsiders were formed by Stranded groups who rejected the COG due to the Hammer of Dawn Strikes that killed the majority of the planet after Emergence Day. The sentiment stayed after the Locust War in 17 A.E., when the COG was reforming and rebuilding civilization, enforcing their jurisdiction and power on all surviving humans of the war, as well as implementing reproductive progress to rebuild humanity. The Outsiders lived in the Wilds in re-purposed buildings or ruins outside COG jurisdiction. In 42 A.E., protests groups occurred in Settlement 2 to fight certain human rights violations. Gears and DeeBees, led by Lt. James Dominic Fenix and followed by Lt. Delmont Walker and Lt. Fahz Chutani were sent to quell the protesters. However, the protesters became violent and began assaulting the Gears and throwing incendiaries. In the battle, Lt. Fenix ordered the DeeBees to shoot the civilians on sight. Lt. Delmont Walker was horrified by the actions took against the civilians protesting in Settlement 2 and became disillusioned with the new Coalition. Wanting to abandon the government, he convinced Lt. Fenix, who regretted his actions that were unknown to Lt. Walker at the time, to leave with him. The two then became enemies of the state. Outsider Movement Joining the Outsiders Sympathizing with the Outsiders, James and Delmont joined the village of Fort Umson, led by Reyna Diaz and her brother-in-law, Oscar Diaz. Reyna was reluctant to let former COG soldiers stay with them, but the two were vouched by James and Delmont's newfound friend and daughter of Reyna, Kait Diaz. For the following six months, JD and Del proved to be viable members of the community and making friends with most of the people there, including JD and Kait developing an even closer relationship. JD and Del's past as COG soldiers happened to benefit the Outsiders, as part of their way of surviving was looting COG Settlements for supplies, including Fabricators, a three-dimensional processing machine capable of building materials and weapons. Since they were once COG soldiers, they knew how to navigate Settlements and the security. However, the looting of Settlements heated the tensions between the Outsiders and the COG. Reyna temporarily called off lootings, but eventually were in need of a Fabricator to power their generator. Raid on Settlement 5 Approximately six months after they left the COG, JD and Del took part in a raid on Settlement 5, a Settlement in construction, in order to procure a Fabricator to power their generator and resupply electricity to their village. Accompanying them was Kait and Oscar Diaz. While surveying the area, the group was spotted by a Watcher, but was shot down by Kait. Unknown to them at the time, the bot was controlled and monitor by "Uncle" Baird, who was keeping an eye on JD and helping him on behalf of Marcus. Afterwards, a Windflare occurred. The team tried to get inside the Settlement before the Stormwall closed them out, but they were too late. They managed to survive the Windflare, and after it passed the team was able to enter Settlement 5. While navigating the Settlement, the group was caught by a Watcher and were forced to neutralize the DeeBee forces, who were now using lethal force on Jinn's order. The group managed to reach the Construction Hub in the center of the Settlement where the Fabricator was located. JD, Del, and Kait managed to enter, retrieve the Fabricator, fight the defending DeeBees, and exit the hub while Oscar held the door outside. When they emerged, Oscar had been detained by First Minster Jinn through her Command Bot. Jinn declared arrest of JD and his group, but not for stealing the Fabricator. Jinn accused JD's group of kidnapping her people. Before she could take action, a DeeBee cart ran over the Command Bot, controlled by Baird, and assisted JD and his group a way out of the Settlement. After fighting their way back with the Fabricator, they prepared for another battle at home in Fort Umson. Kait's uncle, Oscar, the small team survived a Windflare and successfully breached the settlement's perimeter, however shortly afterward ended up with a prolonged skirmish with the settlement's DeeBee security force.Gears of War 4: Act I Battle of Fort Umson After escaping from Settlement 5 with the help of an unknown benefactor, JD and his squad returned to Fort Umson with the Fabricator, just in time to hold off a heavy assault from the mechanized forces of COG First Minister Jinn. Jinn accused the Outsiders of abducting COG citizens, and soon declares that the Outsiders are starting a war they cannot hope to win. Swarm War Ambush on Fort Umson After a violent battle which left large parts of the village in flames, JD and Del attempt to fix the Fabricator which had sustained damage during the battle, with Kait watching guard. The village was then attacked by unknown creatures, with JD, Del and Kait being spared only through the heroic actions of Kait's mother Reyna, who was abducted along with all the other Outsiders. Before her abduction, Reyna was able to remove the hand of her attacker. JD later found and studied the strange hand, harvesting one of the crystal growths on it. Rescue of Fort Umson Assault on the Stroud Estate Desperate to get her mother and friends back, Kait pleads for JD and Del to help, and after a short debate between the group, Del suggests that JD knows someone who might have an answer to who abducted the Outsiders. After a short horse ride, the group find themselves at JD's home and endures a tense first meeting with JD's father, Marcus Fenix. Shortly thereafter, COG forces assault the estate, and JD assists in defeating the initial wave of DeeBees before Marcus reveals some family heirlooms; JD and Del's COG armor, his own COG armor, and the armor of JD's mother, Anya Stroud, gifting it to Kait. The group then battles across the estate, enduring many waves of DeeBee assaults and a Windflare before finally escaping on two MULE bikes that Marcus had stored there. During their escape, JD drives one of the bikes, with Marcus riding on the back and helping to bring down a Vulture gunship. This leads the COG to seemingly abandon its pursuit of the fugitives.Gears of War 4: Act II Lost Ally, New Enemies Having been spurred into action by the strange crystal harvested at Fort Umson, Marcus leads the group towards an abandoned Osmium mine that had been used as a mass grave for the Locust bodies following the events of the Second Battle of Azura, which had encased the Locust bodies in strange, unbreakable crystal cocoons. The mine was located beyond the abandoned Fort Reval, an ancient fortress city that had existed during the Silver Age of Sera, and had been a popular tourist destination before the Locust War where the COG used it as a medical facility. During their investigation, the group is stalked by an unknown creature while encountering strange red pods, within one is the remains of a COG citizen. Soon after, Marcus is abducted by a Snatcher, and before they can rescue him, are attacked in force by the Swarm. Fighting off waves of Juvies, Drones and Pouncers, the group tracks the Snatcher through Fort Reval's stronghold and then through its catacombs, eventually reaching the abandoned osmium mine, with JD and Kait sharing a quiet moment, and Kait feeling guilty over involving JD's father.Gears of War 4: Act III Rescuing Marcus JD and his friends battle their way to a massive ore transporter. Before boarding it, Del speaks to JD, saying that the group has no idea what is at the bottom of the mine or what the Swarm even is. JD said he trusted Del when he chose to leave the COG months earlier, and asks Del to trust him now. Del agrees, boarding the transporter and utilizing it to reach the bottom of the mine, having to employ numerous static defenses from an onboard Fabricator to combat the incoming Swarm. Once at the bottom, JD and the others continue to search for Marcus, who is their only lead to what might be happening. Over the course of the prolonged battle within the mine, it is discovered that the Locust were not actually wiped out by the Imulsion Countermeasure Weapon, instead merely entering a hibernation sleep state and evolving into the Swarm. After many violent encounters with the Swarm, the group finds Marcus' pod and releases him, initially assuming that he was dead before the old soldier gasped back to life. Marcus tells the group that while he was within the pod, he was connected to the Swarm's hive mind, and that while most of the Outsiders were dead, Kait's mother was still alive in another burial site. Kait immediately proposes the group assault the new Swarm nest. JD, Del, Kait and Marcus then escape from the mine on the destroyed transporter's cables. After escaping, Kait angrily lashes out at Marcus when he proposes a detour for backup instead, due to the much larger size of the second site. Refusing to wait, Kait, JD and Del charge off into the night, with Marcus reluctantly following.Gears of War 4: Act IV Doubling Back for Backup The group reaches an old COG dam, built before the discovery of Imulsion, which seems to be the only entrance to the new burial site. After several encounters with the Swarm and a Windflare, JD and the team have to make several detours through the dam, engaging the Swarm while Kait and Del repair the dam's subsystems. When the group braves a vicious Swarm assault and a much more severe Windflare, they discover just how massive the second Swarm nest is, and Kait begrudgingly relents to Marcus' plan to call for backup, helping to shunt power to a large communication station in the nearby town of Speyer, which they then proceed to. On the way, they encounter the massive Swarm commander that attacked Fort Umson and had abducted Kait's mother. In the ensuing battle, the group battles a Swarmak, a horribly disfigured variant of the Brumak, and Swarm reinforcements. Finally defeating the massive creature and restraining the Swarm commander, Kait angrily declares to the Swarm's hive mind that she is coming to destroy their entire nest, before brutally executing the Swarm commander with a curb stomp. The group then proceeds on their way to Speyer. After a brief, mostly peaceful encounter with First Minister Jinn at the outskirts of Speyer, JD and the group fight through both Swarm and DeeBee forces to the communications array, finally securing it and then tasked with using a Fabricator to defend it. After successfully holding off a massive Swarm counterattack, the backup that Marcus had called for arrives in the form of Damon Baird, Augustus Cole and Samantha Byrne, the former members of Delta Squad. During the reunion, Baird reveals that he was the one who originally saved JD, Del, and Kait during the raid on Settlement 5, as he is the CEO and creator of the DeeBees, and that he brought more than just ammunition. Baird reveals two large assault mechs, Jack Jnr. and Second Betty, along with air support from an old King Raven, piloted by his wife Samantha. Soon the group heads out, with JD and Kait manning the mechs as they head back to the dam.Gears of War 4: Act V Assault on the Tollen Dam Their trek back through the dam takes the group through the abandoned and sunken city of Tollen, where JD and Kait have little trouble mowing down the Swarm hostiles in the much larger and more powerful mechs. They even fight off several Swarmaks with little difficulty, eventually encountering an immense Swarm creature at the site of the main nest. After an intense fight which leads to the dismemberment of the huge creature, JD, Kait, Del and the former members of Delta Squad regroup at the main entrance to the nest. Soon after entering, Kait's excitement turns to horror as she find her mother Reyna biologically entombed within Swarm biomass with no way of freeing her. Reyna awakens from a trance-like state and tells Kait that if she is freed, she will die, and asks Kait to kill her. JD and the others leave so Kait can farewell her mother. Afterwards, Kait makes her way out of the nest and tearfully embraces JD. Afterward, Kait shows the assembled soldiers the medallion that her mother had given her; it had belonged to Kait's grandmother, whom Kait had never known. Although on the front side, the medallion was ornate and decorative, on the back side, unbeknownst to the group, the medallion was shaped as the icon of the Locust Horde. Rejoining the COG After the events at Tollen, JD and his group now allied with the COG to deal with the Swarm threat and he has been reinstalled back to the ranks and is promoted to Captain. Mission to Orzabal Crater Battle of the South Village Reactivating the Hammer of Dawn Mission to Azura Return to New Ephyra Evacuation of Settlement 2 Promotion to Captain Siege of Riftworm Village Mission to OZP-11 Battle of Old Ephyra Personality and Traits Unlike his father, JD Fenix is an idealist who wanted to live his life with a purpose.http://ca.ign.com/wikis/gears-of-war-4/JD_Fenix JD is very loyal and protective towards his friends and family, leaving the COG with Del simply because he trusted Del's judgement about the COG and wanting to cover Del's back, as well as comforting Kait during their mission to find her kidnapped mother while also easing her misperceived guilt over getting Marcus involved in finding her. JD had a strained relationship with his father Marcus Fenix partially due to Marcus' displeasure at JD for joining the COG and possibly other childhood issues. Despite their differences, JD cared for Marcus deeply and raced to find his father when Marcus was captured by a Snatcher. As a soldier, JD is a natural leader much like his father, easily calming down his teammates and sticking to the objective despite seeing his father getting captured. Appearance Gallery YoungJD.jpg|JD when he was a child OffierJD Render.jpg|JD as an officer 39 A.E. OutsiderJD Render.jpg|JD as an Outsider 42 A.E. ArmoredJD Render.png|JD after getting his armor back 42 A.E. James_Dominic_Fenix_(Lieutenant).jpg|JD as an Lieutenant in 42 A.E. Behind the scenes *JD Fenix is voiced by Liam McIntyre. *The concept of JD (as a son of Marcus Fenix) existed as early as Epic Games's original version of Gears of War 4.Game Informer: Details On Epic’s Abandoned Vision For Gears Of War 4 *The Gears of War official website provided a cosplay guide for JD, located here. Multiplayer *JD is a playable multiplayer character for the COG in Gears of War 4, and has seven unlockable character skins, excluding his Armored skin: Color Blast, Day of the Dead, Lieutenant Fenix, Outsider, Ugly Gearsmas Armor, Vintage, and Zombie. His Lieutenant Fenix skin is only available in the COG Officer Gear Pack, his Ugly Gearsmas Armor skin is only available in the Gearsmas Gear Pack, his Vintage skin is only available via the Vintage JD Gear Pack as part of the Season Pass, and his Zombie skin is exclusive to a Totino's Pizza Rolls promotional bonus. **Five additional community skins, designed by international artists, were released for free for anyone who had played Gears of War 4 before December 31st, 2016: David Nash, Lindsay Elyse, Mike Sandoval, Nanami Cowdroy, and Ricardo Garcia.http://www.gearsofwarart.com/ Appearances *''Gears of War 4'' *''Ascendance'' *''Gears 5'' *''Bloodlines'' References Category:Characters Category:Males Category:Gear Soldier Category:Outsiders